fire like saltwater
by Elendraug
Summary: "Like stars burning holes right through the dark, flicking fire like saltwater into my eyes."    Set during "Kanaya: Return to the core." Kinkmeme fill.


Written for this fill: tinyurl . com /7tyrefj

_Intercrural sex, colloquially known as thigh-fucking, is pretty much one of the hottest things ever. And yet, I've never seen it written in fanfiction ever. I've seen the occasional frot, which is just as good, but you rarely see either frottage or intercrural sex treated as actual and legitimate forms of sex, which makes me sad, because they definitely count as sex in my mind!_ _I just really, really want to see someone write intercrural sex. My favorite pairings are Dave/Tavros, Equius/Gamzee, and Sollux/Eridan, but I'm open to anything! And if you can Make This Hapen, I will love you so freaking much._

Inspired by the song "Sleepyhead" by Passion Pit (tinyurl . com /33o44d3) and this artwork by confusedspazz (NSFW: tinyurl . com /86erokd ). Enjoy! :D

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><p>They've been adrift in the Veil for jegus knows how long, and one by one, their team members have disappeared from the computer lab. Sollux lies sprawled on an uncomfortable pile of of horns that Gamzee's declared a bed, grimacing each time he shifts the wrong way and a bunch of them start honking. His headache is unbearable, and the sudden, jarring noises just exacerbate the pain.<p>

It'd be a nightmare, if any of them felt safe sleeping.

For now, he's trying to relax at Feferi's side, soothed by her empathy. Aradia's gone - maybe for good this time - and most everyone else has wandered off. Karkat is busying himself in the corner, the keyboard clacking as his hands fly across it, typing angrily. He's probably talking to those useless alien kids; who gives a shit? None of this will matter. They're doomed. Aradia confirmed it long before they started playing this stupid game.

Feferi smoothes his hair away from his forehead, her webbed fingers careful not to catch on his horns. He feels better just for being around her, even if he can't quite bring himself to let his guard down.

Kanaya gathers her things from her spot at the row of computers, cradling some weird egg in her arms, and starts to leave. She's blocked when Eridan (that asshole) storms back into the lab, barging past her on the transportalizer.

Eridan makes a beeline for the two of them, and Sollux wishes he could ignore this melodramatic fuck until he gets bored and huffs away again. No such luck. Not today, and not ever, it seems.

Sollux leans back on the horn pile, staring up at the ceiling of the lab and keeping his eyes closed behind his glasses. He'll just have to wait it out.

"Feferi, tell him to go away," he mutters, crossing his arms over his chest and wincing when more metal jabs into his back.

"This has nothing to do with you!" Eridan snaps, glowering at him. He turns back to the other highblood, imploring her to cooperate. "I'm offering you this chance one more time. Come with me."

Feferi balks. "You weren't serious about going to see Jack, were you? He'll kill you! You could never hope to take him on!"

Eridan rolls his eyes. "Of course there's no hope. I'm not going to fight him, I'm going to _join_ him."

Feferi sputters, furious. "But you can't!"

"It's our only chance, now!" he continues. "The best we can do is surrender and beg him to spare our lives. Maybe he'll let us serve him!"

Sollux scoffs. "Maybe."

Eridan narrows his eyes. "Stay out of it, you fucking filth!" He extends a hand to Feferi. "This is the final invitation. I _do_ care about you, whether you believe it or not."

But she's unmoved by his pleas, her shoulders tense with her own anger and astonishment. "Absolutely not. We can't risk you leading him to us!"

"So that's what it comes down to."

Sollux props himself up on an elbow, a cacophony of _honks_ resounding through the confined space. "She's right, man. I can't even believe this." He laughs mirthlessly. "I should've killed you when I had the chance."

Eridan's immediately in his face, brandishing that retarded fucking wand like it's an actual weapon. "What's that, Captor? You want to fucking fight me?"

Sollux bats the wand away and grabs a fistful of scarf, or cape, or both. He stares him down, and hopes he's choking the insufferable bastard. "Then let's take this outside."

Feferi growls at them both in frustration. "Ugh! Just stop it, both of you!"

But it's too late, and they're stomping away to the transportalizer, regardless of Karkat's annoyed shouts and Feferi's desperate attempts to calm them down. This is happening, and it's happening _now_. They take a few portals and a flight or two of stairs, delaying any sort of conflict long enough to make sure nobody is going to try to interfere. If they want to have another duel, that's their right, and their business.

Eridan unclasps his cape and flings it off towards the far wall, its fabric fluttering to the ground next to some creepy mistake of ectobiololgy floating in a tube. If these dead things are the only witnesses of this fight, so be it.

Sollux's headache is killing him, possibly literally, but he's had plenty of sweeps to learn to deal with it. He redirects the pain with his psionic abilities, forcing it into Eridan's consciousness, forcing him to hear the voices that have tormented him all his life. Eridan launches back with some bullshit wizard magic attack - or science, or hope, or whatever the fuck he's calling it now - and Sollux barely manages to stay on his feet. As much of an asshole as he may be, the guy's powerful.

Neither of them gets a ton in the way of exercise, with most of Eridan's actions limited to roleplaying, and Sollux's time spent writing code. Sollux bolts forward and grabs Eridan by his ugly fucking scarf again, yanking hard and trying to knock him off his feet.

And it's a success: Eridan stumbles and loses his balance, toppling to the ground, his shoulder slamming hard into the tiled floor. Sollux is on top of him in an instant, wrestling for purchase on the scarf, ready to throttle him.

"What a fucking turn of events!" he snarls, digging the heels of his palms into Eridan's throat. "A mighty seadweller, outmatched by a lowblood? Say it isn't fucking so!"

Eridan looks up at him with a mixture of fear and rage in his eyes, his cheeks flushed from what Sollux hopes is a lack of air. He struggles beneath him, lashing out with a few scattered, fierce kicks in an attempt to escape.

Sollux releases him grudgingly. If he's honest with himself, he doesn't want to be responsible for murdering anyone in their group, even this mopey sack of shit. Their numbers are limited as is, and if nothing else, he doesn't want to deal with Karkat screaming at him if he's the cause of another death.

Eridan clutches his own throat, gasping for breath. "Fuck you!" he spits, trying to right himself. He manages to push himself up, still reclining prone on the floor with Sollux leaning menacingly over him.

"That's a clever insult," Sollux hisses, grabbing his shoulder and shoving him back down. Eridan barely resists this time, and Sollux practically recoils. "You're fucking getting off on this, aren't you?"

Eridan's breathing remains ragged, but he makes a deliberate show of tossing his wand to the side, well out of reach. "Oh, and you've never felt black toward anyone?" He reaches for Sollux again, and catches his shirt to pull him down. "We're all fucking doomed. We may as well fill a quadrant while we can."

And maybe it's because of the loss of Aradia, because Eridan echoed his sense of futility, because Feferi's got him worked up over feelings in the first place. Maybe it's because he's never hated anyone with the burning intensity that he hates him in this moment. Maybe it's because he really doesn't have anything left to lose.

"Fuck it, why not?"

Sollux gives up and gives in, and Eridan quickly closes the space between them and kisses him roughly, biting too hard and drawing blood, blood that's practically his opposite on the godforsaken color wheel. Sollux flinches and pulls away, although only long enough to loosen Eridan's scarf and tug it off, tossing it somewhere near the cape. Maybe. He doesn't care.

He leans in again to bite at Eridan's neck, and royal highblood pools against his skin. Fair is fair.

"What are you now, a fucking rainbow drinker?" he says, mocking him.

"Shut up!"

Sollux throws his weight down on top of his newfound - maybe temporary - kismesis, grinding into his hips in an attempt to placate both of them. Eridan tilts his head back, exposing his throat, and Sollux lowers his mouth to lick away the blood, the metallic tang on his tongue nothing like Terezi's bizarre synesthesia. No matter the color, it always tastes the same when it's flowing out.

Eridan squirms, and Sollux helps him out of his sweater, yanking it roughly over his head, unfazed when it snags on the highblood's horns. They'll all be dead soon, anyway; what's a few loose threads? Kanaya can probably fix it, if they ask.

Eridan readjusts his glasses on the bridge of his nose, then reconsiders and removes them, skating them across the floor towards his other discarded clothes. He hates being without them, but it's a matter of practicality at this point.

Sollux licks his way down Eridan's chest, his breath hot and ticklish against the delicate lines of Eridan's gills as they curve along his ribcage. If they've come to some sort of truce, insofar as actual violence is concerned, he's courteous enough not to deal any damage here.

As much as he'd hate to admit it, this encounter isn't half bad.

He mentally berates himself for the unintentional pun, and resumes kissing and licking along Eridan's torso, pausing only when his own shirt is being pulled over his head. Red or black, the intimacy of skin against bare skin is something he really can't resent, and he shudders before he can think better of it.

Eridan wriggles out of his pants, kicking off his loose-tied shoes with them in a tangled heap. The floor is uncomfortable and unyielding, but with Sollux pressed tight between his legs, he can't be assed to complain.

Sollux toes off his own shoes, pulls off his pants, and lazily leaves his mismatched socks in place. It's probably for the best; the room is cold, and at least their feet will be warm. He gingerly sets his glasses atop the pile of clothing. If there's one thing he doesn't want to see damaged, it's his glasses.

Eridan's started without him, reaching with gold-ringed fingers to gently glide across his own dick, careful not to catch the skin beneath the metal. There's no fucking way Sollux would let him do any such thing, but if that's how the guy jacks off, so be it.

"How are we doing this?" he asks, his voice low and lisping despite his best efforts to contain it.

Eridan arches his back, pressing up into him. "I don't give a fuck."

It's honest, at least. Sollux takes himself into his hand and savors a few quick strokes, then pushes his partner's legs up towards his chest. "Keep them together," he says, and it's some combination of an instruction and a demand.

Sollux digs his fingers into Eridan's hips and presses forward, sliding his cock between Eridan's thighs, nudging against his own erection. Eridan lets out a short gasp, lifting his head to watch as Sollux thrusts against him. It's hot, and he gets a free show like this.

It's too awkward, however, and Sollux soon gets tired of Eridan's feet flailing around near his face. "Roll over," he commands, and Eridan does so, oddly obedient. That's all this guy's ever wanted, wasn't it? To secure one quadrant with someone, _anyone_? It's pathetic, but Sollux is enjoying this too much - albeit grudgingly - to call him out on it now.

The bastard's well aware, he's sure.

Sollux kneels behind Eridan, somehow managing to straddle his legs enough to get an acceptable position going. He grips Eridan's ass almost greedily and tries again, thrusting between his clenched thighs, the head of his cock brushing against Eridan's balls each time he moves forward.

Eridan braces himself against the floor on his forearms, his elbows smacking into the tile a bit painfully. He bends his head down and leans more weight to his right side, reaching down beneath himself with his left hand to grasp his length, pumping firmly, more or less in time with Sollux's movements.

"Fuck," he blurts, pillowing his forehead against his arm. "You're so fucking worthless, you have _no right_ to be this good-"

Sollux slaps the back of his thigh almost brutally, and Eridan shuts up, save for a few barely suppressed moans during particularly hard thrusts. They speed up, Eridan's fist curled tight around his cock, eager to coax out his own climax, and Sollux shifts his weight to lean on him, bearing down with more force.

He shoves Eridan's hand out of the way and reaches beneath him to curl his fingers around his erection, jerking him off erratically, his hips moving completely without rhythm through sheer desperation. Eridan cries out and spills onto Sollux's fingers, onto the floor, collapsing down onto his own mess and struggling to catch his breath. Sollux moves a sticky hand back to its former place at Eridan's hip and keeps pumping away, grunting a bit when Eridan consciously presses his thighs more tightly together. Within minutes, he's coming, too, moving between slippery, sweat-slicked skin until he's spent.

Eridan fishes around for his sweater and gathers it into a makeshift pillow, not in any hurry to move. He's too satiated, too pleased with a long-deserved, partnered orgasm to possibly squander the afterglow. He rolls onto his side, unperturbed by the residual fluid splattered across his stomach.

Sollux stumbles to his feet, still half hard, knees aching, and gathers his clothing in silence. He doesn't quite regret it, but he's not looking forward to explaining the situation, either. He hopes nobody asks. It's easier to assume they just fought, like normal.

He huffs. Somehow this has become his version of "normal."

He puts his glasses back on, and now that he's fully dressed, he feels significantly more in control of the situation. Eridan's still sprawled on the floor, exhausted and fairly pleased with himself. For the briefest of moments, Sollux feels a flicker of something else - something red, maybe, if he'd ever admit that to himself - and walks back over to offer him a hand up.

"Don't sleep," he insists, shaking his head. "You won't like what you see in your dreams."

Eridan snorts. "What am I going to see, you?"

Sollux rolls his eyes. "You wish."

Despite the harsh words, he accepts Sollux's hand and stands up, stretching his arms overhead before padding over to his discarded clothes. Sollux watches him, his back lit with the eerie green glow of the creatures' tanks. Nothing looks attractive in this light, but Eridan almost might be, anyway.

Disgusted with himself, Sollux stomps back up the stairs and transportalizes into the computer lab. It's best if they forget about this. They're all about to confront their own mortality, like it or not, and he knows better than anyone just how little you can do to postpone fate.


End file.
